Jump to content

Uptown Funk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MarioSoulTruthFan (talk | contribs) at 14:07, 23 January 2015 (Weekly charts). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Uptown Funk"
Song

"Uptown Funk" is a song recorded by English producer Mark Ronson, with guest vocals by American recording artist Bruno Mars, for Ronson's fourth studio album, Uptown Special (2015). Sony Music Entertainment released the song as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014.[1] The song was written by Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Mars and Philip Lawrence; with Ronson, Mars and Bhasker credited for producing it as well. The song contains elements of "All Gold Everything", performed by Trinidad James and written by Devon Gallaspy and Trinidad James.

The single has been commercially successful, spending five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, three weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in several other countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, France and New Zealand. The single holds the title of the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the United Kingdom, having been streamed a record 2.56 million times in a single week.[2]

Composition and influences

Ronson believes the song "turned into a full-on combustible groove workout with elastic bass and indomitable spirit."[3] The song has been "catching the allusions to one early '80s funk/R&B classic after another". Many fans have been citing the 'Call Me' Guitar riff [by New York Skyy], Cameo horns, the Time [keyboards], and 'Party Train' [by the Gap Band] drums."[4]

According to Billboard's author, Sean Ross, the song is widely influenced by funk artists and their songs, including Zapp's "More Bounce to the Ounce", One Way's "Cutie Pie", The Gap Band's "Oops Up Side Your Head", Earth, Wind & Fire's "Getaway", The Sequence's "Funk You Up", The Sugarhill Gang's "Apache", George Kranz's "Trommeltanz (Din Daa Daa)" and The Time's "Cool" though more likely this comes from The Time's hit "Jungle Love". The only song on "Uptown Funk" specifically credited is the 2012 top 10 R&B and rap hit Trinidad James' "All Gold Everything" (which gives the song its "don't believe me, just watch" chant). Nevertheless, many of the songs cited "were released during the worst period of a "disco backlash" that effectively kept all types of black music, not just disco, off of top 40.", while "Uptown Funk" received instant airplay at top 40 radio.[4]

Critical reception

The song has received high critical acclaim, highly praising the song's fun nature and funky sound. Music critic, Nick Murray of Rolling Stone was positive, giving the song a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, praising "some George Kranz scatting and a Nile Rodgers guitar riff". He also wrote that Mars, Ronson and The Hooligans "channel the days when brags weren't humble and disco wasn't retro.".[5] Brennan Carley of Spin Magazine noted that "Mars sounds a bit like Nelly on the track, sing-rapping his way through goofy lyrics ("Got Chucks on / With Saint Laurent / Gotta kiss myself / So pretty")", while comparing the bass line to something "taken straight from Prince's playbook". He added that "It's a definite step towards more classic funk for Ronson, who has a history of dabbling in heavy horn sections and walking guitar solos". He finished by saying "Mars' voice keeps things light and bubbly though, making "Uptown Funk" the kind of song you'll be unable to escape on the radio in a matter of days."[6] Lucas Villa of AXS called Ronson "eternally cool" and added that the producer's "latest foray into 'Funk' is definitely his freakiest, freshest and most fun release yet."[7]

In January 2015, "Uptown Funk" was ranked at number 23, tied with Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" on The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

Chart performance

On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 65 on the week-ending 21 November 2014 due to digital downloads sold, making it Ronson's first entry on the Hot 100.[8] The following week, during its second week, "Uptown Funk" sold 110,000 digital copies, becoming the Hot 100's top Digital Gainer of the week, and nearing Streaming Songs with a gain of 2.5 million US streams.[9] The song soared 47 positions to number 18 in its second week on the Hot 100.[9] On its third week the song rose to number eight, after its first full seven-day tracking period after the premiere of the music video, with 4.4 million streams, digital sales of 167,000 copies and debuting at Radio Songs at number 46 (28 million audience).[10] So far, the song has earned Ronson his first top 10 as an artist (and in his first visit with such a billing) and his third top 10 as a producer (Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" (No. 9, 2007) and Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven" (No. 1, 2012–13).[10] On its fourth week, the song reached the top five spot. On the other hand, this ensures Mars' eleventh top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, passing Katy Perry and Rihanna (10 each) for the most top five titles on this span.[11] On its fifth week, it reached a peak of number 3, staying there for two weeks. The song claimed the Hot 100's three top Gainer awards (Digital, Streaming, Airplay), marking just the fifth title to sweep all three categories in the nearly three years of their side-by-side existence, and making Ronson the first male soloist to top Digital Songs with a debut chart entry (as a lead) since Sam Smith's "Stay with Me".[12] The next week the song reached a peak of number two. The following week, "Uptown Funk" topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Ronson's first number-one single in the country and Mars' sixth. The song has sold 2.5 million copies in the US as of January 2015.[13]

On 29 November 2014, "Uptown Funk" debuted at number 63 on the Canadian Hot 100.[14] In its second week, it entered the top 10 with digital sales and airplay gainer honours.[14] In the week of 25 December 2014, the song sold 34,000 downloads.[15] The following week, the song peaked at number one.

Following a cover by Fleur East on The X Factor UK reaching number one on iTunes, "Uptown Funk" was rush-released, with its release date being brought forward by five weeks.[16] It debuted at number one in the United Kingdom with first-week chart sales of 118,000.[17][18] This gave Ronson his first UK number one as either a producer or artist.[18] The next week, despite selling over 181,000 copies, "Uptown Funk" fell to number two, being denied the coveted Christmas number one by The X Factor UK winner Ben Haenow's winner's single, "Something I Need".[19] In that same week, "Uptown Funk" made UK chart history by being the first single to be streamed more than 2 million times in a single week, being streamed a total of 2.34 million times. In doing so, the single took the title of being the all-time most streamed track in a single week, replacing Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud".[2] The following week,"Uptown Funk" returned to number one and improved on its streaming record, being streamed 2.49 million times. The single has spent five non-consecutive weeks at number one, as of 19 January 2015.

In Ireland, the song debuted at number 2 on 12 December 2014, and the following week peaked at the top of the Irish Singles Chart, taking the Christmas number one spot. In doing this, it became the first song not released by The X Factor winner to reach this position in nine years.[20]

Music video

The official music video was released on November 17, 2014 exclusively on Yahoo Screen. It stars Mars, Ronson and the Hooligans. On November 19, it was released on Vevo and YouTube. It was directed by Bruno Mars and Cameron Duddy.

Credits and personnel

Recording
  • Recorded at: Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee; Dunham Studios, Brooklyn, New York; Zelig Studios, London, UK; Enormous Studios, Venice, California; mixed at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[68] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Italy (FIMI)[69] Gold 0
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70] Platinum 15,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Platinum 600,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United States[1] 10 November 2014 Digital download Sony Music Entertainment
Australia[72]
United Kingdom[16] 8 December 2014

References

  1. ^ a b Robbie Daw (30 October 2014). "Mark Ronson Announces "Uptown Funk" Single, Featuring Bruno Mars". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved 1 November 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Moss, Liv (28 December 2014). "Uptown Funk scores third week at Number 1 and sets new streaming record". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  3. ^ Ray Rogers (10 November 2014). "Mark Ronson Says New Single With Bruno Mars 'Uptown Funk' Is a Milestone for Both of Them". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b Sean Ross (24 November 2014). "From Sugarhill Gang to Trinidad James, a Look at the Influences of Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. ^ Nick Murray (10 November 2014). "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk"". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  6. ^ Brennan Carley (10 November 2014). "Bruno Mars Brings the 'Uptown Funk' on New Mark Ronson Single". Spin. Spin Media. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  7. ^ Villa, Lucas (8 January 2015). "Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars ride 'Uptown Funk' to the top of Billboard Hot 100". AXS.
  8. ^ Trust, Gary (21 November 2014). "Hot 100 Chart Moves: Meghan Trainor Hits Top 40, Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars Debut". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b Trust, Gary (28 November 2014). "Hot 100 Chart Moves: Band Aid 30 Debuts, Nicki Minaj Ties Madonna's Hit Total". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  10. ^ a b Trust, Gary (3 December 2014). "Taylor Swift No. 1 on Hot 100, Selena Gomez, Mark Ronson Hit Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  11. ^ Trust, Gary (10 December 2014). "Taylor Swift Tops Hot 100, Meghan Trainor Scores Second Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  12. ^ Trust, Gary (24 December 2014). "Taylor Swift Tops Hot 100 for Sixth Week". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  13. ^ Grein, Paul (21 January 2015). "Maroon 5's 'Sugar' Rushes to the Top 10". Chart Watch. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Canadian Hot 100: December 6, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  15. ^ "Weekly Music Sales and Analysis: 25 December 2014". 25 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  16. ^ a b Copson, Rob (10 December 2014). "Mark Ronson grooving his way to first Number 1 with Uptown Funk". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  17. ^ Finbow, Katy (14 December 2014). "Mark Ronson claims his first UK number 1 single with 'Uptown Funk'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  18. ^ a b Copsey, Rob (14 December 2014). "Uptown Funk gives Mark Ronson his first Number 1 single". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  19. ^ "X Factor's Ben Haenow crowned 2014 Official Christmas Number 1".
  20. ^ "X Factor winner Ben Haenow denied Irish No 1 spot". RTE.ie. 19 December 2014.
  21. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  22. ^ "Week Commencing ~ 1 December 2014 ~ Issue #1292" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  23. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  24. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  25. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" (in Dutch). Ultratop Urban. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  26. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  27. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  28. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  29. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  30. ^ "ARC 100 – datum izlaska: 22. prosinca 2014" (in Croatian). HRT. 22 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 24 December 2014 suggested (help)
  31. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 02. týden 2015 in the date selector. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  32. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51,52. týden 2014 in the date selector. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  33. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". Tracklisten. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  34. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  35. ^ "Mark Ronson: Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  36. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  37. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  38. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  39. ^ "Chart Track: Week 51, 2014". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  40. ^ "Media Forest Week 50, 2014". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  41. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". Top Digital Download. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  42. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  43. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Luxembourg Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2014. [dead link]
  44. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  45. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  46. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  47. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". VG-lista. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  48. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Portugal Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015. [dead link]
  49. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  50. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201450 into search. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  51. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201451,52 into search. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  52. ^ "South African Airplay Chart". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  53. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart – Week 03, 2015" (in Korean). Gaon. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  54. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  55. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  56. ^ "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk!". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  57. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  58. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  59. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  60. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  61. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  62. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Latin Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  63. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  64. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  65. ^ "Mark Ronson Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  66. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2014". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  67. ^ Copsey, Rob (6 January 2014). "The Official Top 100 Biggest Songs of 2014 revealed". Official Charts Company.
  68. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015. {{cite web}}: templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  69. ^ "Italian single certifications – =Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 16 January 2015. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Uptown Funk" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  70. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  71. ^ "British single certifications – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 January 2014. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Uptown Funk in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  72. ^ "iTunes – Music – Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars) – Single by Mark Ronson". iTunes.